International
Entered 2024.04.22 16:14 Modified 2024.04.22 16:17
US President Joe Biden (right) meets Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani at the White House in Washington, US on the 15th (local time) (Photo = Reuters Yonhap News) Amid intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran, US military bases in Syria Unrest continues in the Middle East due to Iraqi rocket attacks.
On the 21st (local time), Reuters reported, citing two Iraqi security sources, that at least five rockets were fired from Zumar, northern Iraq, towards a US military base in northeastern Syria. It is the first attack on US troops in the region since Iran-backed militants in Iraq stopped attacking US troops in early February. Iraq’s Shafaq News Agency reported that Shia militias in Iraq fired rockets at the US military base in Karab Al-Ir, and that several loud explosions could be heard from the take-off and landing site within the base, followed by smoke thick rises. “No US troops were injured, but the exact facts, such as whether the rocket reached the base or whether the base was a target, were not known,” said a US official who asked to be anonymously to Reuters.
The attack happened a day after the Prime Minister of Iraq, Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, returned from a visit to the United States and met with President Joe Biden at the White House. Reuters analyzed that Iraqi militants have resumed attacks on US troops stationed in Iraq after little progress was made in negotiations to withdraw US troops from Iraq during Prime Minister Alsudani’s visit to the United States.
The rockets targeting the US military base are believed to have come from a fixed launcher behind a small truck parked in Jumar. Jumar borders Syria. A senior military officer, who requested anonymity, said, “The ordnance exploded without exploding and the small truck was engulfed in flames, and at that time, a fighter jet was hovering in the air.” He added, “Until an investigation is carried out, it cannot be confirmed whether the truck was bombed by US military fighter jets.” Iraqi security authorities announced that they had sent Iraqi security forces to the border with Syria and had begun a wide-ranging pursuit of the fleeing group. They also announced that they would be arrested and prosecuted. An Iraqi military official said, “Based on the initial investigation of the seized truck, it has been determined that the truck was destroyed in an airstrike.” He added, “We are communicating with the international coalition forces in Iraq led by the US military to share information about this attack.”
Reporter Han Kyeong-kyung
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